Old rivals Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola will logger heads one more time as in-form Tottenham Hotspur welcome Manchester City to North London in the Premier League.
For the first time since 2017, Tottenham Hotspur enter the fixture sitting above their opponents and a victory for Jose will mean one more step ahead in the championship winning ambition while Pep Guardiola will be looking to crown a celebratory week which saw him finally put pen to paper on a new two-year contract at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday.
The two managers met 23 times before this Premier League fixture, Guardiola winning 11, Mourinho winning six, with six draws. Neither man has faced a rival manager more often.
WHEN & WHERE?
When: Saturday, November 21
Where: New Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Time: 23:00 (IST)
RECENT FORM
Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League form: (W-W-W-D-W)
Four wins in the last five matches puts Jose’s team as firm favorites to win this epic duel but Mourinho’s title ambitions will be tested as six of Tottenham’s next seven league games come against teams that finished in the top eight last season – Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Manchester City’s Premier League form: (D-W-D-W-D)
Pep Guardiola will most certainly want to win this match as his team currently languishes down in the tenth position although the Sky Blues have one game in hand. A draw or defeat will put more pressure on Pep’s men and will certainly mean that their hopes of winning a fifth Premier League crown will be dented.
TEAM NEWS
Tottenham Hotspur:
Jose will miss the services of Matt Doherty after he tested positive for coronavirus while away with the Republic of Ireland. Steven Bergwijn remains a doubt for the match after international doctors deemed him not fit enough to feature in any of Netherlands’s UEFA Nations League games. But Erik Lamela and Tanguy Ndombele are back in contention to face The Citizens.
Manchester City:
Raheem Sterling and Nathan Ake are both out of the game with Sterling picking a calf injury in England training. But uncertainty surrounding Oleksandr Zinchenko, who was part of the Ukraine squad placed into quarantine by Swiss authorities after a positive test ahead of their cancelled international meeting. Pep will be boosted by the returns of first team regulars Benjamin Mendy Fernandinho Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus.
PREDICTED XI
Tottenham Hotspur’s probable starting XI Lloris; Aurier, Alderweireld, Dier, Reguilon; Sissoko, Hojbjerg; Bale, Lo Celso, Son; Kane
Manchester City possible starting lineup: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan; Torres, Jesus, Foden
PREDICTION
Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Manchester City